


Honor thy Father

by daesgatling



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-15
Updated: 2013-06-22
Packaged: 2017-12-15 01:49:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/843900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daesgatling/pseuds/daesgatling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Gold was the one that raised Emma? And what if Regina was slightly affected by the curse so that she didn't realized the daughter that Mr. Gold adopted as his own was the savior?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

She came to him one night in autumn, she kept her hood over her face to conceal it but he knew immediately that it was her. No one else was allowed down here with the exception of the guards. They didn't even allow those that were desperate to see him in. They believed that since he no longer had his power, he no longer could provide those that wished to see him with what they wanted.

 

Fools.

 

Even more foolish were Charming and Snow White for forbidding anyone access here and yet they came themselves. Cloaked in robes and hiding in the shadows. Did they really think he wouldn't know who they were? It was quite obvious. The guards that watched him would be exiled if they accepted a bribe from the higher class. Royalty was the only ones he knew of that would be able to see him. There was no other royal couple that would dare cross Snow and Charming like that. Not after they crushed Regina's and George's army.

 

So when she returned a month later, he automatically knew who she was. She still kept the silly cloak over her face and clothes but he supposed that was for those that were outside the cage. He doubted they were still awake though, he thought he heard a servant offer them a flagon of wine that was no doubt drugged. She wanted to get in to see him unobserved. Since her beloved king was not with her, she obviously did not want him to know that she was here.

 

Which means she was desperate enough to put herself completely at his advantage.

 

"Snow White," he gave an exaggerated bow, one of his outstretched arms brushed against the cavern wall, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

 

She pulled off her hood. She was a lot paler than when he'd last seen her, she looked thinner around her face too.

 

And he could be mistaken, but she was trembling. Now that was new. He hadn't known her to show outward fear of him before but he knew from experience that when faced with danger of their child, a parent showed more emotions.

 

However, regardless of her fear, she walked up to the cage as far as she dared get without risking him grabbing her. It almost insulted him that she still maintained her distance. After everything he'd done for her…

 

"What is this world that they're sending us to like?" she demanded.

 

A smile crossed his lips and she paled even more. He hadn't known that they found a portal this quickly! The guards spoke in whispers sometimes but they never told him anything of value. It looked like the Rhuel Ghorim WAS good for things other than removing a parent from their child.

 

"It is a land without magic," he told her.

 

She looked at him in confusion. Her naïve mind tried to process what he'd just told her, "What kind of a land is one without magic?"

 

One where his son dwelt.

 

Instead he shrugged as if it was no big deal. To be honest he didn't understand it either and he'd spent centuries trying to figure it out, "This one is."

 

Her hands went to her stomach as if to protect it and when she realized it drew his eyes as well she reluctantly removed them, "Can we survive there?"

 

"I wouldn't see why not," he told her honestly, "You're adaptable. You went from a princess to a thief to a queen. While it's not easy, living with nothing shouldn't be unfamiliar to you."

 

She looked down and swallowed, "And what if…when we get there, I won't know where to look?"

 

"I'll find you," he told her.

 

"You'll be trapped with the rest of them," she whispered.

 

"You forget whom you speak to," he told her harshly. If she wanted to hear what he knew then she'd best not forget who she was dealing with. It was disrespectful and he felt his temper flare, "Do you not think that since I know what Regina is doing that I wouldn't have a plan set in place so that I was not a complete prisoner as the rest of them?"

 

She cringed and took a step back.

 

"I will find you," he told her without showing outward disgust that he just used her husband's pet sentence to her, "And I will have the power and resources to take care of you and that child until the time comes for her to return. But I won't be taking care of you without a price. You are to do exactly as I say-."

 

Snow White winced and pressed her hands against her back as if she was in great pain.

 

That got Rumpelstiltskin's attention immediately, "What's wrong?" 

 

"It's just some pain," she said, "I'm fine."

 

Rumpelstiltskin grabbed the bars and pushed his face against them as if he were observing her, "A sharp shooting pain in your lower back? Are they consistent?"

 

She looked up, "What do you mean?"

 

He smiled, a new plan formed in his mind to replace the old one, "You might be having your baby, dearie."

 

She drew in a sharp breath, he didn't know from pain or fear, "It's too early."

 

"That's never stopped a baby from being born before," he told her.

 

Much to his annoyance, she started crying. This was proving to be more tiresome than when Bae's mother carried him and her emotions could change at the slightest provocation.

 

"The wardrobe can only carry one," she said, "It's not ready yet."

 

"Then it looks like you won't have to worry about whether or not you can survive in that world dearie, if you have her here then you'll be trapped in the curse the same as everyone else."

 

She watched him; her bluish gray eyes met his snake ones. The fear that she was sending her child to a world that she didn't completely understand herself came over her and tears fell down her face, "She can't survive out there by herself. She's just a baby."

 

He didn't know why she was telling him this. She didn't trust him; he could see that in her eyes. Perhaps it was because he was the only one here. Or more likely, just like with everyone else he had in his control, she expected him to fix it.

 

If it was the latter, he had her right where he wished her to be.

 

"I could find your daughter," He told her, "But it would cost you."

 

Snow White looked like she aged about ten years when he said that, "What do you want?"

 

He went in for the kill immediately, "You will allow the child to be mine."

 

Snow White's face hardened, "No."

 

"I give you my assurances that she will be protected."

 

"Will she be loved?"

 

He blinked, "What do you think I am, dearie? A monster?"

 

Snow White closed her eyes and he saw her shame as he knew she was considering it, "Will she be loved?"

 

Do animals not raise and love children as their own all the time? "Yes."

 

Snow let out a small breath that she didn't realize she was holding, "Regina would know."

 

"Regina doesn't know anything else I tell it to her, dearie," he said, his voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. He didn't tell her that he'd planned for this. He knew that she'd carry a child before this curse was cast and he'd made plans. Just in case something like this would happen. This curse was full of plans for contingencies that these people would have thought out and some they probably didn't.

 

Snow met his eyes again, "It's my baby."

 

"And you're about to send her out into a very frightening world that not even you understand," he taunted in his high pitched singsong voice. Just in case she was getting too comfortable, "Look at it this way dearie. It'll be 28 years before you see your child again if you say no. If you say, 'yes' and acknowledge that for all intents and purposes that she will be my daughter to raise and train…then you can watch her grow up. She'd be safer with me."

 

"How do I know that?" 

 

"Have you ever seen me harm a child?" 

 

"What's stopping you from just taking her?" Snow demanded.

 

"Nothing," He told her. He'd made plans for that too, "But I don't want your husband or yourself to come knocking at my door with one hand while there's a dagger waiting in the other when the curse is broken. I'd rather all the anger be directed toward Regina." 

 

"Why?" 

 

He ignored that, "Besides, as I've worked so hard getting the two of you where you are…it'd be a shame if I resorted to something horrible to save my own life." "

 

"I'll have to talk to Charming."

 

"You'd need to, wouldn't you?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Too bad," he said, "This is a onetime offer, dearie. I can't have you being talked out of it."

 

The horrified tears sprang anew, "But-."

 

"You want me to protect her?" he asked, "That's the deal and that's the price."

 

"And how will I know that you won't find some way to get more out of this deal than what you have to pay?" She demanded, "Last I recall you took my ability to love after I asked you to take my memories of Charming-."

 

"And look where it got you." He gestured to the room around him, "You're a queen now and married to your one true love because of me. Isn't that enough to put trust in our relationship?"

 

He didn't like her silence for an answer.

 

"You can always have more children," he told here, "And I'm sure Emma will return to you one day in need of her mother but your child will grow up not knowing the love of a parent if you say no. Could you really put her through that just because you don't want to give her to me?"

 

Snow White drew in her breath, he could see in the torchlight that her face was wet with tears. He really wished that he'd done this when her body and emotions weren't affected by pregnancy.

 

"Will you let us see her over there?"

 

"If you wish," he told her. He knew what it was like to be separated from a child and while he didn't know just how much Snow's feelings for her daughter would carry over to the other side, he wouldn't demand that she stay away from the child. He did want Emma to grow up somewhat healthy.

 

Snow closed her eyes and she looked to be ill, "Deal."

 

He grinned, "You just made a _good_ choice."

 

She averted her gaze, turned, and left the prison quarters.

 

The guards didn't understand why he spent the next day cackling with glee.


	2. Chapter 2

Rent day was a mixed blessing for the town landlord, Mr. Gold. It meant that he got to exert his power over everyone and remind them where they stood in the pecking order of things, but it also meant that to get the rent he had to TALK to them.

He'd much rather just spend the day in his pawn shop. No one ever came in there unless it was to beg for a reprieve and usually their desperation made for a better day. He could usually handle one or two people; it was just the town as a whole that he couldn't stand. If they didn't like the rent prices then he would hate to see how they would react in the outside world where his mercy and leniency weren't there. He didn't think he asked too much. Gas was 15 cents here and the bread was a quarter. Upping the rent was reasonable in his eyes, what else would they spend money on? Material goods? He had plenty of material goods, and all it did was clutter up his house and make for more dusting. He was doing them a favor. If they complained then he could easily double the rent and give them something to complain about.

But they did not see it that way. And he was not looking forward to the very long day that would be following. He got up, showered, dressed, made himself a sandwich for his lunch later and turned on the TV in the living room as he prepared for his day.

Perhaps he would stop by the mayor's house first. Nothing more like making her miserable to brighten up his day. He couldn't stand that cold hearted cow. She thought she held cards that he didn't know about and that somehow she had power. 

And who VOTED for her, anyway? 

Well, she didn't hold the cards, he knew everything thanks to his little spies and she needed to learn her place in this town. Unfortunately for her, it was far beneath him. Just like everyone else.

Oh, wouldn't that get her angry? He could just imagine her marching into the shop like she did earlier that week...in her little hissy. Whatever was it that she was talking about again? People not doing what she wanted them to because they wanted to do it? Or...something...

Now that he thought of it, he should have let her know that she was no better or no worse than everyone in this town from the John Doe in the hospital bed to that saccharine sweet teacher that lived in an apartment that she could barely afford.

Speaking of which; maybe he would stop at the teacher's house. Ms. Blanchard's pure innocent outlook on life amused him and for some reason he genuinely liked her. He didn't understand it and he hoped it wasn't some sort of fancy. She was half his age and he normally didn't like women with hair shorter than his.

He was starting to leer at this age already. Wonderful. He was hoping that he'd skipped his midlife crisis altogether.

He turned the dial to the early morning news and waited to hear how the world was getting worse today. None of it reached Storybrooke, it never did but he liked to be informed. He liked to know everything. It gave him an edge. Why? He didn't know. It wasn't as if anyone else watched the news here and even if they did, he didn't talk to them about it.

It was just something he liked to do.

_"The search for the parents of the newborn girl found on the side of the road…"_

Oh this again. The townspeople had talked about it and he ignored them. They were practically bristling with excitement over the story but no one could say why. They'd tried to ask his opinion when they came into his shop but he brushed past them. He had no interest in something that he couldn't change. Parents left her on the side of the road. Give her a home and let her be. If they hadn't found the parents yet then he doubted they would. Why waste good money bothering?

_"If anyone has any information on baby Emma-"_

The comb that he was using for his hair dropped from his hand and clattered on the hardwood floor.

Memories came flooding so fast that they felt like they physically slammed into him. Memories of being Rumpelstiltskin. Memories of Baelfire and the curse. Memories of targeting Snow White and Charming to bear the savior

And memories of Emma.

"Emma," he breathed and walked to his phone. Rent could wait a few hours. He needed to get his hands on that baby before any other well-meaning families got her. His Mr. Gold had connections for procuring children if need be. Of course he never had but his false memories had taught him how to do it here. And if the curse worked then the people he would contact would have false memories of him as well. Giving false memories to the outside world was dangerous and unpredictable and so he had to only give a couple of memories to some people. When the curse was broken the memory would just disappear and they'd continue their lives.

But it was worth it if he could get his hands on Emma.

"What a lovely name," he mused and put the receiver to his ear.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

One week and many bribes later, Gold stood waiting outside on his porch for the social worker.

Sixteen families had been considered. Gold had given half his fortune to get a hold of Emma but it was hardly a sacrifice for him. It would be replenished in no time and he had 28 years and a curse to make sure that he stayed wealthy.

Now that he stood on the porch that evening, he wasn't sure if he could do this. Bae had grown up to be a decent boy so maybe he did something right. However that was before the curse had warped his mind and turned him into a monster. What if he turned her to be just as twisted as him?

He couldn't let her get close to him, that's all there was to that. Snow White was her mother, Charming was her father. He would just raise her to do her duty and prepare her for 28 years into the future when Regina realized that the sweet girl that Mr. Gold had taken in was exactly the person that Regina was no doubt searching the world for.

He straightened up as the unfamiliar car drove up the street and stopped in front of his house. The memories that "Mr. Gold" had given him had allowed him to know who lived where and what they drove. This car was a newer model, one that he hadn't seen yet.

So instead of magic, technology was what advanced in this world. Fascinating. He was certainly glad that it was Emma that had to be put through the wardrobe alone because he was certain that Snow White would not have known how to survive. 

The car door opened and he watched a stern looking woman in a pantsuit climb out with a man. Wordlessly she moved to the back of the car and lifted the little bundle out.

His heart started racing. Their savior was in that baby blanket. He could tell it was from the home world. It was white with purple ribbon weaved through it. Emma's name had been stitched into the blanket. It would serve as something to link her to their old home. 

What if there was a mix up and he had been given the wrong child? That had happened before several times in this world. Technology advanced but common sense didn't. He supposed some things never changed from world to world.

"Are you Mr. Gold?" the man asked and came up to him.

"Yes," he said and looked at the woman. She knew who he was; he'd given most of her his money to secure the baby for him.

The man looked at his house in distaste, "Awful big for just you."

"My estate is the town and the land surrounding it," he said and gave a smile, "I've paid a lot of money and wasted a lot of time on the phone to secure this. Can we just get it done?"

"Is that what it took to get the roadside baby this quickly?" He scoffed, "Adoptions legally take forever."

Rumpelstiltskin smiled condescendingly, "Well, then I suppose I'll just consider myself above the law and you can consider the child in better hands that most of the other families that you were considering."

The woman walked up the stairs to him and handed him the bundle, "Support her head."

"I have handled babies before," he almost snapped and gave a sigh of relief when the savior was finally sleeping safely in his arms.

Well part of the worst was over.

"Sir, meet your new daughter," the woman said, "Emma Gold."

0000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000 000000000

Rumpelstiltskin didn't know what to do. 

Emma was only a week old so she slept constantly. She woke before he went to sleep and he fed her and put her in the crib upstairs.

Now that she was in his house, he wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to do this. This was the savior. How was he supposed to teach her that? He wasn't good, he wasn't pure, he was a monster and he accepted that over the centuries. How did he raise a child to be a good person around that?

He looked human now sure, and he had some of his humanity back but the monster inside him was still alive and well too. How did an evil monster raise a savior?

It was those fears that he went to sleep with. What was she going to think of him when she found out about the deal he'd made with her mother? What would she think of her mother who loved her enough to sell her to a man that was too scared to love her as a father should because there was a better man that had fathered her and wasn't a coward and he didn't want to get in between that?

She would grow to hate him when she realized what he was. Just like Bae no doubt did now.

It was two in the morning when Emma's cries woke him up. He lifted his head off the pillow and then collapsed and groaned. He'd forgotten about this. At least with Bae, he never had to worry. It was his wife that could feed their son. He could wake up and hold her hand as she dragged herself out of bed but when it all came down to it she was the one that got up three times a night to feed their baby. There was nothing that he could do.

But here he was in a different world with no wife and a child that wasn't even his.

He rolled over and pulled on his shirt. Maybe he should have waited to adopt Emma legally. She might've slept throughout the night by then. 

But if he'd done that, then they would've looked too closely at him and at Storybrooke and he would've never seen the baby.

He kept her crib in his room so that he wouldn't have to walk far. His Gold memories told him that his leg would act up in the autumn and winter. And it was cold in Maine.

"Emma," he whispered and picked her up, "Sh. Sh. Sh."

He adjusted her so that he could support her with one arm and travel downstairs. Perhaps he could get a sort of smaller kitchen put upstairs so that he didn't have to worry about traveling upstairs and downstairs as much.

There was a room he didn't use and was bare. It was a possibility. He would have to talk to Marco about it.

Emma ignored his attempts to comfort her. She screamed over his attmepts to sing her back to silence. She cried and cried until he warmed up her bottle and fed her. He wished he could say that he passed the time bonding with the child but doubt gnawed at him as he stared into her bleary blue eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered when she was done. He and put her against his chest to soothe her to sleep. He wasn't sorry that he'd bartered and bribed for her. The safest place she could be right now was with him. He was just sorry that he wouldn't be a good father to her.

Emma put her fist into her mouth and gave a sigh of contentment as she rested her head on his chest.

It was then that the weight of his situation hit him. He had dealt with several babies over the centuries. He had given his firstborn son; it was his asking price for most families if they didn't need what they were asking him for. Newborns were a good trade and it always reminded him of how much he hated humanity because of how easily some people gave their children up for riches or a man or woman they lusted after.

But he always made sure he had a buyer waiting for that child for one reason; after he was the dark one babies never liked him. They, like animals, could sense the evil that he brought with him. Babies screamed whenever he got close and so he was always sure to give them away hours after he acquired them.

But not Emma. Perhaps it was because the evil was a bit more suppressed or because she was the savior. He didn't know why, and he shouldn't think like this because she as only a week old. However, children had a way of sensing these things. So to have her resting comfortably on his chest meant that even though she was far too young to know what was going on, she trusted him to feed and take care of her.

It may have been stupid, or an act of desperation to ease the loneliness he'd felt all those years and the years he knew he faced…

…but her first night with him, he decided for now he would ignore Charming and Snow as her parents.

He was her father.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a lovely day so Rumpelstiltskin moved the bassinet out on the porch so that he could enjoy the weather and watch over his daughter at the same time.

His daughter. It was still an odd thought even though she'd been his for a week now. He thought he'd get used to it but he hadn't. A child in his care...one that he could call his own hadn't happened in a very long time. 

She was content with him now but she would grow to hate him just like Bae did.

But he would enjoy these moments while they lasted. Other than the 2 in the morning feedings, he sort of liked having her. Maybe this way...if he didn't destroy her psyche like he did with everyone else he touched, he could raise her up and teach her to be good. He could atone for some of the things he'd done. 

Emma opened her eyes and focused on him. He smiled and brushed a knuckle down her cheek, "Hi Emma, did you sleep well?"

She yawned and gazed up at him again. He slipped his finger in her palm and smiled again as her small hand closed around it. He brought her fist to his lips and kissed it, "You're going to be growing so fast little one. It'll feel like you'll be walking before long. Well I Know that you have almost a year or so but it'll pass like...well like you're the only one in this town that can grow I suppose."

She watched him with an inexpressive face; he did have to admit he felt a bit silly talking to a child that wasn't old enough to understand what he was saying. He still had a feeling she understood far more than the others in this town though. Talking to them was like talking to the wall. 

Tires screeched aways away and groaned, Rumpelstiltskin looked up and muttered a curse when Regina climbed out of her overpriced mechanical wagon.

He frowned and put his hand on Emma protectively. The curse stated that she would be in a haze when it came to Emma and who she was; and his curses were always FLAWLESS. However, that didn't stop him from worrying that something could go wrong. He was insane when he made that contingency...it might not have gone through all the way. Regina was almost as aware as he was. IT was a little too close for comfort for him but he'd made a deal that she could have her own happy ending. And her happy ending was living without fear that the savior was in town with her.

It was sort of twisted thinking but it made sense when one thought about it.

"Mr. Gold, I'm here to talk about you raising my rent," she said with that familiar bite in her voice and marched up to him. Oh, the arrogance that dripped off her. Did she honestly think that just because she was the only one in town stupid enough to approach him in public that he'd admire her?

"Inflation dear," He said and glanced down at the baby, "The prices of the world are rising and I need to make sure that I'm well taken care of."

"Oh for God's sake, what could you possibly need that you don't have?"

Emma started to fuss and Regina finally snapped out of her angry reverie to glance down at the bassinet. Rumpelstiltskin bristled as she leaned over and examined the child. Emma screamed at the top of her lungs and Rumpelstiltskin made sure to mutter about how he'd just laid her down as he bent over and gathered his little one in his arms.

Good judge of character.

"When on Earth did you get THAT?" Regina demanded.

"Oh Madam Mayor, I've been looking to adopt for a while," he rubbed Emma's back to get her to calm down. Her lower lip quivered, he pressed her large head against his shoulder for support, "I've given…several families the chance to be happy by procuring children for them by lesser means than the tedious legality of adoption. I figured it was high time that I open my home up to one as well."

Regina narrowed her eyes as if she was studying him and he held her gaze. He was still Mr. Gold to her, not Rumpelstiltskin and if he forgot that then everything was over.

"If you raised my rent to pay for her…"

"I raised your rent because you live on my land and I can do whatever I wish," he told her simply, "If you do not appreciate that then you are free to live somewhere else."

He saw her muscles tighten under her tight dress, but he didn't leer. He just watched her. One of his favorite parts of being the dark one was getting people to bend to his will by just a look.

She shook her head angrily, "Perhaps we can work something out."

"No," he said simply, "The rent is up, you will have to deal with it."

Regina called him something not fit for baby Emma's ears and turned on her heel and stormed off. He watched her leave with a smirk and rubbed Emma's back. She'd began to settle down as Regina got further away. 

He needed to keep Regina as far away from the little one as possible. Just in case.

"You want to go for a walk Emma?" he asked and stood. He walked down the stairs and placed her in the stroller that he kept in the shed.

"Let's go see your mother," he whispered when she was strapped in.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

 

Rumpelstiltskin had to admit that he felt…unnatural pushing a child's carriage while he walked down the street. Everyone stopped to gawk. He had closed up his shop for a week so that he could bond with the child so most of them hadn't seen her yet.

No one came close enough to really admire her htough. He was really glad of that today of all days; he was dreading when they actually summoned the nerve.

"I don't know how long it'll take for you to understand this, Emma. But your mother made a big sacrifice when she agreed to let me raise you. I'm guessing that Charming won't know…he's your father. Or at least the man that created you, I like to think that I'm your father since I'm the one raising you. Anyway, your mother didn't know what kind of a parent I'd be or how I'd treat you but she gave you to me anyway because she trusted that I would at least keep you safe. IT's a big world out there little one. Bigger than ours and I really couldn't stomach the idea if she let you out there all alone.

Emma just gave him a blank look.

"I realize of course that you have no idea what I'm talking about," he continued, "But I'm not going to sit here and give you baby talk because in my experience children are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. And if you're going to grow up to be our savior then I'd rather have you intelligent early. Besides, your parents might've baby talked to you but I imagine that would do wonders for ruining my reputation."

He stopped in front of Mary's apartment and lifted Emma out of the carriage. His leg was already killing him, the cold was worse here than in the realms.

He made it up the stairs and knocked on her door. She answered it and froze when she saw him. He took in her appearance. His Gold memories had told him that she had short hair and wore shapeless clothes as not to draw attention to herself. But still…looking at her now with his memories, it was shocking in its own little way. Long healthy hair was a symbol of beauty for their world; he supposed it would make sense for Regina to make sure that even that was taken from her.

"Ms. Blanchard," He greeted and tried to ignore the fearful look she shot him and then her careful examination of the child he was carrying, "Pardon the intrusion but there's something I would like to discuss with you."

She wanted a relationship with your daughter, here she was.

Snow White let him into her apartment. It's wasn't like she had a choice. They were all programmed to dance for him if he asked them to. That was part of his 'I want comfort' agreement that he made with Regina. And nothing made him more comfortable than some of the people's humiliation here. He had a few tricks up his sleeve for his prison guards.

"Mr. Gold," she said and sat at the table with him, "I promise, my paycheck is coming, then I'll give you the rest of the money-."

"I'm actually here to give you an offer that will satisfy us both."

She paled, "What?"

Oh, did everyone have a dirty mind here? How lewd! 

He gestured to the girl he carried in his arms, "This is Emma, my adopted daughter." 

"Oh?" she perked up at the sight of the baby and leaned forward. Her curious face melted into a bright smile. The bond was established as soon as she saw her daughter. Rumpelstiltskin imagined she would feel that maternal instinct now but she wouldn't be able to explain why, "And as you are probably well aware, due to my antisocial nature she will probably have no female influence if I do not take some action now."

"I don't…I don't understand."

"I need someone to watch Emma when I'm out working, it wouldn't be many times, just maybe the first Saturday of the Month."

"Rent Day," Mary finished.

"And maybe a Saturday here and there."

Mary Margaret shook her head, as if she was trying to clear it from the haze it would be in for the next 28 years, "Wh-why are you asking me to do this? Why me?"

"Because shockingly enough Ms. Blanchard, you're one of the few people I trust in this town to be a good influence on my child. But without another influence...preferably female, there's only so much I can do to make sure she grows up mentally and emotionally healthy. I…I'm not exactly the best at providing that I'm afraid."

Snow White looked up, "No…I'm sure you'd be a good father."

"Oh no doubt I'll prepare her for what she needs to be ready for. I imagine my idea of showing her the love she needs is far different than what you would imagine."

"I-I don't know…"

"If you do this then I'll forgive the rent you owe. I'll even give you a discount. I'm sure a teacher's salary can barely afford what I've set as rent."

"I was fine until you raised it," she muttered and then stopped when she realized who she was talking to.

"Oh Ms. Blanchard, a man has to provide for his child, doesn't he?" He asked and held the baby out for her to take, "Do we have an arrangement?"

Snow reluctantly took the child and tucked her against her chest. Emma opened her eyes and the disturbance and when she saw her mother, broke out into a smile. Snow broke out into a beaming grin of her own and brushed a knuckle down the child's face, "Hi Emma."

Gold sat quietly and let his daughter bond with her mother. Emma was content with him, but she hadn't smiled yet. Now she was practically beaming at the mother that'd given her to him. He had made a deal with Snow to let her see her daughter as often as he chose. At the end of this, Snow couldn't say that he'd refused to follow through on his side of the deal to the best of his ability.

After an eternity, Mary cleared her throat and returned his daughter to him, "I'll do it."

"Wonderful," he said and stood up, "I expect I'll see you Saturday then."

He accepted his daughter back, turned to leave and he was certain that he saw Mary hesitant to let him out. But she did and he made it to the bottom of the stairs.

And Emma started crying.


End file.
